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history of

Amsterdam

...of one has ever been found. So far as is known, Amsterdam originated as a small fishing village in the 13th century
ad. To protect themselves from floods, the early inhabitants had to build
dikes on both sides of the river, and about 1270 they built a dam between these
dikes.

Netherlands

...information but only a certain amount of indirect knowledge—after about 1050, it can be seen in the internal colonization (in the form of reclamation of woods and bogs), in the building of
dikes and polders, in the expansion of agricultural land, and in the growth of the villages (new parishes) and towns.

reclamation of harbours and land

A prime example of the first purpose was the enclosure in 1926–32, by means of a
dike some 17 miles in length, of a large inlet known as the Zuiderzee (renamed the IJsselmeer after its enclosure). Considerable areas of this body of water have since been reclaimed by the pumping ashore of dredged sand, and the reclamation of further areas is either in hand or planned for the future. A...